The Week in iOS Accessories: CES Blues

The Consumer Electronics Show made for a busy week of new iOS accessories. In our final installment, we've got even more new gear, this time focusing on Bluetooth speakers. If seeing yet another Bluetooth-audio product raises your blood pressure, well, we've got an accessory for that, too.

Bem

This company introduced a whole range of new products at CES. Among them: The $180 Speaker Duo (pictured) and the $80 Speaker Mojo, both Bluetooth-enabled speaker systems that can stream music wirelessly. The Duo’s two speakers can be pulled out and separated by up to 80 feet for stereo playback. Also new is the $50 Speaker Band, a wireless device for your wrist; the $130 Sunrise, a combination of alarm clock and wireless speaker; the $100 Academia, a combination of a desk lamp and a wireless speaker; and the $70 Express, an iPhone stand and wireless speaker that also provides mood lighting.

Braven

Braven introduced a whole host of new Bluetooth speaker options at this year’s CES. Among them is the BRV-X (pictured), an outdoor speaker designed to offer big sound in the great wide open; the company hasn’t yet offered word on pricing or availability. The company also announced the Mira, a portable and water-resistant speaker—use it in the shower!—that offers up to 10 hours of playback; as well as the Vibe, a distributed-audio system that gives you multi-room playback of music, which you can control directly from your iOS device.

ClamCase

Clamcase's $129 iPad Mini Keyboard Case, a smaller version of the company's well-known Clamcase for full-size iPads, is versatile. Yes, it sports a Bluetooth keyboard, so you can set up your small tablet like a notebook computer. But it also functions, simply, as a tablet stand for hands-free use, and as a durable case to protect your electronics when you’re on the go. The entire package—iPad mini and Clamcase—weighs less than two pounds, and it's slim enough to fit easily in a purse or backpack.

Harman Kardon

Is it a hot-air popcorn machine or a wireless home speaker system? The $400 Aura looks a little bit like the former, but it’s definitely the latter: a Bluetooth-enabled system with six 1.5-inch drivers omni-directional output of mids and highs, along with a 4.5-inch driver on the bottom for pounding bass.

JBL

The $130 Flip 2 features two drivers for stereo sound, and a built-in bass port—all inside a compact, hand-held speaker. It sports a 2,000-mAh lithium battery for hours of wireless music playback, and it's available in five different colors.

Matrix Audio

The $80 Qube2 is a “pocket” Bluetooth speaker billed as “the world’s smallest.” We don't know about that, but it weighs in at less than half a pound, offers up to eight hours of playback, and comes in five colors: red, black, silver, blue, or purple.

NYNE

This company unveiled a whole new lineup of portable Bluetooth speakers at CES, including the NYNE Bass (pictured), NYNE TT, NYNE Cruiser, and NYNE Mini. The speakers range in price from $50 to $150, and offer 5 watts of power at the low end, and up to 20 watts at the top. Each offers up to 10 hours of playback.

Riva

This new company—a brand from Audio Design Experts—unveiled its first product at CES, the TurboX Bluetooth speaker system. It features seven speakers, 45 watts of power, and an 18-hour reverse charging battery. Riva hasn’t yet made pricing or shipping information available.

Withings

Withings has made a name for itself by combining old-fashioned healthcare tools with iOS delivery. The new $130 Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor is just the latest example, but this time around, it works with other mobile devices, as well, thanks to Bluetooth connectivity. You just wrap the monitor’s cuff around your arm and start the process; the monitor connects with the Withings Health Mate application with your iPhone and begins transmitting blood-pressure and heartbeat information.